Railway journal lubricator



March 1948- J. J. HENNESSY 2,437,817

RAILWAY JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Filed March 11, 1944 INVENTOR JAMES J. HENNESSY FIG.3. i 7 BYQLWM ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 16, 1948 PATENT RAHJWAX JOUR LIIBRlQAIO .-'.-.;7ames ;I. HennessnMontcjair; E1. ApplicationMarchAL 1944, s i- 1 p geants for leading oil-fromthe pumptothe journalor;

m the distributor-by which;lubricant is applied to the face of, the journal, as distinguished from hinged arm distributors of the type shown in said patent and telescoping or hose connections as shown, "for example in Patent," No.;. 2162, 383, issued to the present applicant June-13,1936,

"The main object'of the present invention is to simplify the involved structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a distributor structure,v including ange-xtensiyeconduit,. which may be completed and handl d and inserted into and removed irom the journal box separately from the .pump.

l These and other detail objects as willappear from the following description ,are attained by the structure illustrated .in the accompanying drawin s, in which Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section through a journal box equipped with a pump ype iubricator.

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section taken on-the line 22 of Figure '1.

Figure 3 is a detail section drawn to aneularged. seale and..corresponding to a portion of the structure shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a section corresponding generally to Figure 3 but illustrating another form of the invention.

The journal box l is a typical Al Ai Rt-box arranged ior-applicationv-tothe rusualra 3 nal 2. The pump includes a body 3 and one or more-operating levers 4 arranged to be actuated by the movement'of the dournal axially in-'the box. The pum-pis positioned in' the boxhy a plate 5. "The eSei-ilationof-pllmp lever 4 causes lubricant to be drawn' mto the lower portion of the pump and .dischargethrough an outlet 6. Preferably outlet 6 opens into. the bottom of a cupshaped depression in the top of thepump body. A member 1 comprising a spring seat .has a "ball-shaped nipple fitting'in the depression in the top of the pump. Member I is apertured in line with outlet 6.

A distributor device is applied to the journal to be lubricated and preferably comprises an arcuatepla'te i with' flpstanding ribs and ridges 9 forminga pan-like device-for holding lubricant againstthe journal. v Plate-8 is supported by slabs iii of felt or similar material -which,in turn. are carried upon supports-H hinged-to a center piece i2," IThis'arrangement may correspond to that shown in a copending application, Serial No. 47118.9; filed-January 1331943, by the present applicant inow Patent No; 2,378,407, issued June 19, 1945i A coil spring -23 is compressed between seat '1 and center piece "13 and yieldingly supports the latter "and'the remaining portions of the distributor so as to thrust the upper face of thadistributor against the journal.

Distributor or plate a "has a through passage for lubricant; including an inlet -Hlwhich is spaced above discharge'out-let fi-in the pump body.

A'bellowstype tube i5 is employed as a conduit between thepump and distributor and consists of a length oftubular material with its wall bent alternately inwardly and outwardly, as 'best shown in *Figure ;3. The material may be of flexible brass or other meta-1' alloy or of suitable fabric or synthetic rubber which is resistant to destructive action by oil; etc.

The upper endof tube 1.5 is'cemen-ted or otherwise secured to a flat plate l5 which lies against a suitable flat surface provided on-the bottom of plate 8.1IThe.lower.end of' tube 15 is similarly securedto. alfiatplate i1 which lies against the upper surfaceof seat 1.?lates l8 and H are aperturedto cooperate with the passage is in seat I and withlnlet M in plate 8. ,A helical springfzfi surroundstube-M and is compressed between plateslfiandtli to thrust them in opposite'directions and hold them to their seats on the associated parts i and 8.

Preferably two or more llnks 2] are pivotally secured to plate 8 and depend therefrom and are freely received in; openings in member I and are provided with cotters 22 attheir lower ends. These pins guide members 1 and limit the spring thrust movement-oimembers l and 8 away from each otherif they are disassembled from the pump and journaifi'iience theydistributor unit, including seatlmem'oer "I, may be handled ,sepa ratelyand maybe readily inserted and removed ironi'the journal and box.

Eigure 4 illustrates another. arrangement .in

: which the bellows tube 25 is "formed by a leather sleeve shaped and stitched as illustrated with its ends flanged as shown at 28 and gripped between plates 21 and 28 which may be welded together as indicated at 29. A spring 30 compressed between the upper and lower plates 21 tends to expand the tube lengthwise to maintain contact of upper and lower plates 28 with the distributor and pump parts with which they are associated.

The details of the structure may be varied substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the exclusive use of those modifications coming within the scope of the claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a journal lubricator of the class described including a pump and a distributor above the same for application to the journal to be lubricated, and a conduit comprising a bellows leading in a substantially straight line from the pump to the distributor and constructed to automatically shorten and lengthen along said line to accommodate variations in the distance between the pump and distributor.

2. In a journal lubricator of the class described including a pump and a distributor above the same for application to the journal to be lubricated, a conduit between said pump and distributor embodying a tube with walls of flexible material folded alternately inwardly and outwardly to form a cylindrical bellows open at its ends to the pump and distributor respectively and extending in a substantially straight line between the pump and distributor and flexing lengthwise of said line to readily accommodate movement of the pump and the distributor relative to each other.

3. In a journal lubricator, a pump, a distributor, a conduit between said pump and distributor comprising a bellows-like tube and a plate secured to each end of the tube and apertured for the passage of lubricant therethrough, and a spring compressed between said plates and thrusting them apart towards the pump and distributor respectively.

4. In a journal lubricator, a distributor arranged for application to the underside of a journal and provided with a through passage for leadapplication to the bottom of a journal box and having an upwardly opening lubricant outlet, a member overlying the pump and having a passageway aligned with said outlet, a spring carried upon said member, a distributor supported by said spring and arranged for application to the bottom of a journal in the journal box, elements depending from said distributor and slidably received in said member and provided with means limiting the relative movement of said distributor and member away from each other, and a flexible tube between said member and distributor forming a conduit from the pump outlet to the distributor inlet.

'7. In a journal lubricator, a distributor arranged for application to the underside of a journal and provided with a downwardly facing flat face provided with an inlet opening, a pump arranged for application to the bottom of a journal box and having an upwardly facing concavity provided with a central outlet opening, a memher having a downwardly facing convex boss seated in said concavity and apertured in line with said outlet opening, a plate on said member and similarly apertured, a spring seated on said plate, a top plate supported by said spring against said flat bottom face on the distributor, and a bellows-like tube with its opposite ends connected to said plates respectively and surrounding said openings and forming a conduit between said pump and distributor.

8. A structure as described in claim 7 which includes pins spaced transversely of said openings and tube and secured to the distributor and ing lubricant to the journal-opposing surface of the distributor, a lubricant pump arranged for application to the bottomof a journal box and having a lubricant outlet, a member resting on said pump and having an aperture in line with said outlet, a spring compressed between said member and distributor, and a bellows-like tube extending between said member and distributor and forming a conduit between said aperture and said passage.

5. In a journal lubricator, a distributor having a port arranged for application to the underside of a journal and provided with a through passage with an inlet for leading lubricant to the journal-opposing surface of said port, a member underlying said distributor and apertured in line with the inlet to said passage, a pump arranged for application to the bottom of a journal box and having a lubricant outlet, a member overlying said pump and apertured in line with said outlet, a bellows-like tube secured at its opposite ends to said members and forming a conduit between said outletand inlet, and a helical spring surrounding said tube and compressed between said members to thrust them against the distributor and pump respectively,

6. In a journal lubricator, a pump arranged for slidable through the spring-supporting plate, and means on said pins limiting the supporting plate against movement away from the distributor to hold them assembled when separated from the pump.

9. In a journal lubricator, a pump, a lubricant distributor above the same, a conduit between the pump and distributor comprising a bellowslike tube with its ends flanged outwardly, an annular plate surrounding the tube inwardly of each flanged end, and a plate overlying each of said flanged ends and apertured for the passage of fluid to and from the tube and fitting against the pump and distributor respectively, the plates at each end of the tube being secured together to clamp the flange of the tube between them, and a spring compressed between the an nular plates and thrusting them apart to extend the tube.

JAS. J. HENNESSY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 350,422 Duffy Oct. 5, 1886 891,928 Godley June 30, 1908 1,866,942 Shinn July 12, 1932 2,162,383 Hennessey June 13, 1939 FOREIGN PA'I'ENTS Number Country Date 16,504 Great Britain 1908 347,661 Great Britain Oct. 27, 1928 

